5 July 2012

After a rest day, we headed off early in the morning to the Hampton Court Flower Show which is the biggest flower show in the world. It covers many hectares and we walked many kilometres in the four hours we were there.

One of the many spectacular gardens entered in the outdoor garden competition.

It was one of the few fine days with blue skies we have enjoyed in the UK, and no better day for it. We were amused by many of the Poms when the sun comes out. They find some dry grass, lie down on their backs, and go to sleep.

We then moved across to Hampton Court Palace which has not been occupied by the Royal Family since the 18th Century. It was previously occupied by William III and Henry VIII. The history around Henry VIII was fascinating. He was supposedly a very religious man but that didn't stop him from having two of his wives beheaded.

We couldn't resist taking a tour of the extensive palace grounds on a horse drawn carriage, pulled along by these two eighteen and a half hand beauties.

The Palace has fifty full time gardeners on staff and it's easy to see why. This small garden is just a fraction of the sixty hectares surrounding the palace.

3 July 2012

Caught the train to Westminster and spent over two hours exploring Westminster Abbey. Absorbed another huge dose of history.

Moved on to West End/Chinatown district where there are endless theatres and even more pubs and restaurants.

After lunch we went to St. Martins Theatre to see the 24,839th performance of Agatha Christie's play "The Mousetrap" which has been running continuously since 1952.

2 July 2012

Caught the tube to Greenwich and had a look over the "Cutty Sark". This display was opened by the Queen earlier this year after massive restoration works on the ship. The Cutty Sark is the only surviving tea clipper in the world.

Greenwich Park is the oldest urban park in London. It has been temporarily transformed into an equestrian venue for the Olympics. The Dressage Arena (pictured) represents only a part of the whole complex which includes stables, practice arenas, offices, power generation and more. We will be back here to watch Dressage during the Olympics.

In Greenwich Park we also visited the Royal Observatory and the Zero Meridian Line.

 Bussed to North Greenwich and flew back across the Thames on the just opened Emirates Sky Link to the London North Docks area. Wonderful views of the Thames and London from the cable car.

We decided to take a trip up to Abergavenny and hoped the weather would be fine.

Roaming the hills at Abergavenny looking for a red dog running free.

Even climbed Skirrid Fawr (the holy Mountain) but no red dog was to be found.

Back in London, we headed off to Henley on Thames for our weekly dose of pomp.

The annual Royal Regatta at Henley attracts thousands of people where British Rowing Clubs and invitees race off in head to head knockouts over three days.

As a finishing touch, the Queen's fancy rowing machine, the Gloriana, was moored at the regatta. The Gloriana was built in 2010 specifically to be used in this year's Diamond Jubilee celebrations. The cost of construction was half a million pounds.

Wales abounds in Roman / Norman / Anglo castles, each with its own fascinating history.
We stumbled across this one in the little village of Kidwelly, Where we had stopped for a cup of coffee.

Surf's up at Freshwater East, a beautiful spot where the rolling green hills come down to meet the ocean. Thousands of people flock there during the English summer (which doesn't appear to have started yet)

 Another day, another castle. This one is Pembroke Castle at Pembroke. Henry VII was born here and was the first king in the Tudor dynasty.

 Pembroke Castle was built over the top of an ancient underground cavern once inhabited by cave dwellers during the Middle Ages.

 We visited a quaint little fishing village called Fishgard on the West Coast before heading back East.

Went to Wimbledon on Day 1. Had to line up for 2 hours to get ground tickets. Once inside we watched Roger Federer on the big screen in his first round match.

Managed to get late tickets to Court 1 and saw two top women's matches. Enjoyed some fantastic tennis until play was suspended due to poor light around 9pm.

On July 26 we caught a fast train to Bristol where we picked up a hire car and ventured off into Wales. Spent the first night in Cardiff. Explored Cardiff Castle the next morning. The picture was taken from the castle keep and looks across towards the Millenium Stadium. The stadium is smack in the middle of the city centre, the equivalent to having Lang Park at the top of the Queen Street Mall.

How much is that Pastie in the window?
I do hope that pastie's for sale.

On the road again, about to head off along the coast road in South Wales.

Have enjoyed a few quiet days in London. We did go and explore the Natural History Museum.  

It's Royal Ascot Day. We had a one hour train trip from London to Ascot. In the UK food and drink are allowed on overland trains. So imagine a jam packed train full of people all sipping champagne and off to the races, a great way to start the day.

We joined the 80,000 people who had come to see the the Queen of England and Black Caviar, the Queen of the Track. The hype surrounding Black Caviar was electric, it was a fabulous day out.

The Queen arrives at 2pm to get the day officially under way, with no shortage of British pomp.

Black Caviar does the business. There was a huge gasp from the crowd when the jockey stopped riding her in the last 50 metres and almost got her beaten, with massive confusion and despair until Black Caviar was announced the winner.

      

 June 11 - 19

Caught the Eurostar to Paris at 300K/Hr. The lift in our hotel was a little squeezier than we are accustomed to in Aus, it measured 600x900 centimetres. Walked 15k on our first day taking in Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower, Arc DeTriumph, the Champs De Lyesee and much more.Also wined and dined our way through the day in the French's wonderful Cafe culture.

Arrived at the Lourve early on day 2 to join a hoard of people lining up for tickets to enjoy the best the art world has to offer. We were lucky that we had purchased our tickets the day before and were able to go straight in and begin a wonderful experience.

After slaying Goliath, David returns home triumphantly with Goliath's head in hand.

 We spent over 4 hours in the Lourve. It got to the stage when we could not look another statue in the eye without beginning to hallucinate.

On June 14 we caught a fast train to Munich via Stuttgart passing through beautiful German countryside. Mother hen was thrilled to catch up with her baby chicken at the World Cup Rowing.

The Germans love to sit, drink, eat and be happy. We reluctantly embraced their culture.

One of the highlights of Munich was without doubt the English Gardens, established in 1789 and covering 370 hectares. It is one the world's largest urban public parks. Thousands of people flock there every day.

Being a rowing supporter is a tough gig.

Surfing in the English Gardens, one at a time from dawn until dusk.                                        

The other highlight in Munich was the Hofbrauhaus, the best known beer hall in the world. We frequented the establishment on four seperate occasions, enjoying traditional german food,cold beer and merriment. I now understand why my father enjoyed Munich so much in 1972. I doubt if he found time to visit the English Gardens. We flew back to London on June 19 for some R&R after a very memorable week.